Battle of the Bulge

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Bruno
Unregistered User
(9/24/00 10:56:12 am)
Reply Battle of the Bulge
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Did the german have any real (or at least theoretical) chance of winning the Battle of the Bulge?

Richard Murphy
Unregistered User
(9/24/00 3:17:49 pm)
Reply Nope!
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Bruno,
The objectives of Herbstnebel/ Wacht am Rhien were always hazy from the outset. Capturing Brussels and Antwerp (The attacks final objective.) would have seriously inconvenienced the British and Commonwealth forces north of the Ardennes, but was hardly likely to prevent the inevitable collapse of the Third Reich.
One of the main reasons for this is that the Germans simply did not posses the strength to defend such a long line before the start of the campaign. Ever since the launch of Barbarossa 3 1/2 years before, they had been forced use smaller and smaller offensives, with the theoretical benefit of the concentration of forces, and subsequently achieved less and less.
Rather than taking offensives such as this, they would probably achieved more by using von Manstein's practice of allowing an enemy to attack first, then using superior reserves to anhilate the breakthrough with mininmal loss of ground and casualties.

Regards,

Rich

Jones
Unregistered User
(10/5/00 2:22:43 pm)
Reply Mainstein
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Interesting points Richard.
Could you elaborate on your "Manstein theory", it sounds interesting but I am not familiar with his strategies.

Jones
Unregistered User
(10/19/00 5:58:47 pm)
Reply Mainstein
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Could Richard or someone else tell me about Mansteins strategies? Thanks.

Jones

pdhinkle
Member
Posts: 19
(11/30/00 12:42:30 am)
Reply Little known facts/ Bo B/classic battles
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At about the time the German Panzers ran out of fuel, they were less than one mile from a US fuel dump. thousands of gallons of fuel for their Tanks. One US engineer Officer was given the job to blow the dump. He waited until he saw the tank crews headed his way, before he fired a flare pistol at a can of fuel he spilled. True story.

16 Dec. 1944, 56 years ago today, The Battle of the bulge began. I had two brothers serving in that area. One was a combat engr. supporting the 4th ID on the south flank, guarding Luxembourg, They held the line! Another was in a 155mm long tom Bn. of Arty. They were working on Aachen.


Classic battles:re: richard Murphy,s post 9/24/00: The fighting in Italy is the best example of fight and withdraw, Allow the enemy to attack, counter-attack and hold, then withdraw to more defendable positions.
Both sides tied up a lot of enemy forces that way.